the american dream

in discussing the american dream in class today,  i asked students what their dream car is (of course, i told them that mine was a yellow corvette) .

one student replied with the bugatti.  she said it was the fastest car in the world.

i had to look it up.  wow.

some things about the bugatti:
it's made by volkswagen.
the veyron model reaches speeds of 253 mph and costs $1.7 million.  the supersport model costs $2.7 million.
the veyron can go from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds.

even better if it was a beer marketed to both genders

Chick Beer | Finally, a beer just for women

I think it's wonderful that women can come together and create a successful (?) business... But let go of the gender stereotypes. Pink! A purse!

i might have tried the beer otherwise.

"a few" v. "zero"

well, which is it?

this says it all

a complete lack of motivation. [via]

for the love of peanuts

at the dollar tree, they have a package of six mini-bags of salted peanuts, of course for a dollar. considering the value and the degree of enjoyment, i consider this one of the best buys ever.

never touch a germy soap pump again

i really do not understand what the big deal is over the "germy soap pump" as advertised by the Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System. the premise is that your hands are dirty (germy) and then you touch the soap pump to dispense soap and wash your hands. who cares that the soap pump was germy (as were your hands) when you are then going to wash them!

yeah, either i'm missing something important or this is just a dumb marketing ploy. i'm sure it is the latter.

man-cakes

so, here we have cupcakes for men. i can see how this may be a marketable idea (men like cupcakes and don't want pink frilly products). the social roles designating camouflaged icing is obvious, but alcohol-laden treats? the bakery advertises kahlua-soaked cake, bailey's filling, and buttercream made with beer.

is this still dessert?

fast food

i think these guys got lucky. my food looks even worse than this.

Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality: "Each item was purchased, taken home, and photographed immediately. Nothing was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort. It is an accurate representation in every case. Shiny, neon-orange, liquefied pump-cheese, and all."

astroturfing

i was thinking the other day that if everything [as in products i see advertised on tv] is 'green,' then why can't everything just be green. this brings me to one commercial in particlar. the new Reynolds Wrap. the new wrap claims to be recycled and the packaging is green. and it is nothing more than a marketing ploy. it is already much cheaper to recycle aluminum foil than it is to mine it and it has been recycled since the 70s.

via badmomgoodmom: "At least for the last couple of decades, nearly all the aluminum in the US market is recycled. ... Whether you can buy the Reynolds or the store brand, you are buying recycled aluminum."

just recycle everything, call it like it is, and stop charging more for it.

tv ads

last week, after the election, i lamented about a return of pharmaceutical commercials. i had gone a few weeks without the usual bombardment of ads of what might be ailing me due to their replacement with election ads every two seconds.

last night, i realized that the christmas season is here. now all i seem to see are jewelry commercials.

i love Dr. Pepper news

i am a self-proclaimed diet dr. pepper addict so this story caught my eye. and it is quite strange. Dr. Pepper is offering a free can of soda to everyone in America if Guns 'n Roses' album Chinese Democracy is released by the end of 2008.

"The company press release reads in part: 'It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper's special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love... So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection -- for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as 'Dr Pepper for the ears' because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds -- an instant classic.'"

apparently the album has been in production since the 90s and has cost $13 million thus far. wow. that's worth a dr. pepper.

essure

i've been seeing these commercials for essure, a female sterilization method for permanent birth control. so i checked it out. from their website:

The Essure procedure is 99.80% effective based on 4 years of follow-up. Essure is the first and only FDA approved method of female sterilization. There were zero pregnancies in the clinical trials.

if there were no pregnancies, then how is it only 99.8% effective? did someone die?

Mirapex

is a medication for Parkinson’s disease, but has been recently advertised for restless leg syndrome. listening to the commercials, i find it quite interesting that compulsive gambling is listed in the side effects. i'm no doctor, so how does this happen?

panera bread is LOADED with fat

it's the PSA for today. because of a co-workers comment [that her favorite Panera sandwhich, the Turkey Artichoke Panini, had 37 grams of fat], i took a gander at their website to see how my lunch measured up. when at Panera, i always get the Broccoli Cheddar Soup, 17 grams of fat, and Smokehouse Turkey Panini, 23 grams of fat. even their Tuna Salad Sandwich has 42g!

that's not something they advertise. for that, i mind as well go to McDonalds, it's cheaper anyway.